Indian Premier League: Delhi Capitals (DC) skipper Axar Patel said he is personally not in favour of the Impact Player rule in the Indian Premier League (IPL), saying that it reduces the role of all-rounders in the ten-team tournament, whose 19th edition starts on March 28.
The Impact Player rule, introduced in 2023, allows all ten IPL teams to substitute either a batter or bowler in any innings of the match. "I don't like this rule, honestly, because I am an all-rounder. Earlier, you would pick an allrounder for batting and bowling.
"But because of this rule, the team management goes for a particular batsman or bowler, thinking 'Why do we need an allrounder?' Since I am an allrounder, I don't like the rule. At the same time, rules are rules and we need to follow them. From a personal point of view though, I don't like the rule," said Axar in a pre-season press conference on Monday.
DC will open their IPL 2026 campaign against Lucknow Super Giants at the Ekana Cricket Stadium on April 1. This is not the first time Axar has expressed displeasure about the ruling – in 2024, as DC’s vice-captain, Axar had said that his batting position was affected by Impact Player rule.
Despite an IPL career economy rate of 7.3, Axar endured his weakest bowling season last year since joining DC in 2019, conceding at 8.5 runs per over and taking just five wickets in 11 innings. He clarified that his lean bowling returns last year was due to a finger injury sustained during the victorious 2025 Champions Trophy campaign and not caused by the Impact Player rule.
"The 2025 Champions Trophy was right before the IPL. During CT, my spinning finger sustained a cut: when I was bowling, because of the seam of the ball, it kept getting cut further. It turned into a deep cut. Because of that, I couldn't put pressure and rotation on the ball.
“I was bowling less because of that and was thinking of bowling only wherever needed and saving my finger. After seven matches, when my finger healed, I resumed bowling. It was not because of the Impact Player rule," he said.
Despite the lean bowling returns, Axar compensated it with one of his best batting campaigns in 2025 - scoring 263 runs in 11 innings at a strike rate of 158, including four 30-plus scores. He struck at 159 in the middle overs and provided momentum to DC’s innings.
Since IPL 2025, his T20I batting returns have been modest, with 167 runs at an average of 18.6 and a strike rate of 119, though he has continued to bowl with control, taking 26 wickets at an economy of 7.7 – thus earning him the tag of ‘crisis-man’, a player who can bail the team out of tough situations.
"You've seen me be the same for so many years: whatever the team requires, I do that. That's why the tag of crisis-man has come up. I take up the role as per the team's requirement, be it a finisher or a middle-order batter. We keep discussing: if a person is scoring four in two, or twelve in two, or 80 runs as an opener: all those roles are important for the team.
Since IPL 2025, his T20I batting returns have been modest, with 167 runs at an average of 18.6 and a strike rate of 119, though he has continued to bowl with control, taking 26 wickets at an economy of 7.7 – thus earning him the tag of ‘crisis-man’, a player who can bail the team out of tough situations.
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“Due to that, you're not readying your mind for one particular position. I am prepared for every role. I am fit to do that. If you don't think that way, you are limiting yourself and if you don't get what you want, you feel down and don't give your 100 percent," added Axar.